TV presenter Oleg Ilyin, a pastry chef with 17 years of experience and the best pastry chef in Moscow, reveals the secrets of cooking the most beloved spring-summer dish – barbecue.
– The charm of this dish, it seems to me, is not so much in the very taste of fried meat, but in the ritual of cooking – and marinating, of course! Kebabs are not just for you to sit down and eat. This is a whole system of actions and moods. Remember the song “Shashlik with cognac”? Sergei Trofimov assures that it is very tasty, and I completely agree with him. Today, everyone is taken to the barbecue: meat, homemade sausages, burgers, fish steaks, and vegetables. But we will talk about the classics: pork neck shashlik, beef shashlik, lamb shashlik, chicken thigh shashlik and sturgeon shashlik.
Ashore, let’s agree on terminology. Personally, in my understanding, shish kebab is meat fried over coals. And the marinade is exactly what can add a certain flavor to that very meat. I am totally against theories like “this marinade makes the meat softer” – nonsense! Just buy the right meat right away, not hoping to “fix” its shortcomings with mayonnaise, vinegar or wine.
I am a kebab specialist, at the dacha I always do it alone, and still everyone is alive, healthy, happy and constantly asking for more. I believe that barbecue will not succumb to female hands – not because I want to somehow humiliate the culinary abilities of lovely ladies, in no case! Simple preparation often requires brute masculine strength, and the onions that I personally use when preparing the marinade, unfortunately, do not smell like Chanel No. 5 perfume. Therefore, dear girls, save this article to your bookmarks or send it to your man via WhatsApp – perhaps he will find something new, useful and interesting for himself!
Meat: I have been buying it in the market from a butcher friend of mine for many years. I take a neck – meat located along the ridge on the neck. A strip along the ridge on the back is also suitable, and a loin will also turn out well. It is best to take it chilled. Otherwise, if you buy frozen, you will get a very dry shish kebab. Steamed meat is not suitable for barbecue (especially beef), as it will turn out tough. It needs to be kept for some time in order for the “muscles to relax”.
Take a pork neck not very large – no more than 3,5 kg: the smaller and lighter, the younger the pig, and the meat is tender, juicier and it will be easier to chew – grandparents will say special thanks at the dacha.
Competent cutting is very important. Here it is possible to spoil the meat and get sandpaper from soft and tender pork meat. Cut slowly, in the final you should have excess fat and bones. Exceptionally large cubes (not slices or chunks) – about 4cm by 4cm. Cubes that are too small will dry out.
Marinade: for 1 kg of pork, 1 kg of marinade is taken, which consists of 800 g of onions, chopped into strips, and 200 g of tomatoes. Add salt and black pepper. You can take the most inexpensive tomatoes, we only need their juice.
Shish kebab was known in Russia even before the XNUMXth century, when this dish was called “spun”, as it was turned over on a spit. Chickens, ducks, meat and hares were used – this barbecue was very fond of the royal nobility and the kings themselves
Preparation
1. In a convenient container, mash chopped onions and tomatoes together with salt and black pepper for as long as possible. With pleasure! With pleasure, men! Not a philonym! Longer! So that your hands do not stink of onions for a week later, wear rubber gloves for washing dishes – this is a life hack that has long been proven in my personal practice.
2. Mix the pork with the resulting marinade and put it in the refrigerator for a day. This is very important – for a day, I emphasize!
3. After that, disassemble the meat from the marinade into shampoos and fry on hot white-hot coals. I beg you, do not use any special means such as ignition and other chemicals. Better set aside a little more time for the process.
Important to remember: although they say that pork needs to be roasted well completely and to the end, I don’t do that and, thank God, I haven’t ruined anyone yet. I fry until the meat turns pinkish on the cut. That’s when it turns out super juicy. I don’t like overdried kebabs. While you are carrying it from the barbecue to the table, it will come, believe me!
Meat: beef has an excellent taste, reacts well to various spices and sauces, is not inferior in its taste and useful properties to traditional lamb or pork. But there is a risk of making a hard barbecue – I warn you right away! We choose beef according to the same principles as pork: the consistency of the meat is fresh and firm. The fossa formed when pressed with a finger is quickly leveled. By the way, in meat of suspicious freshness, the hole from pressure is leveled out slowly. And in a completely missing piece, the hole is not evened out at all.
I would recommend buying veal for barbecue, specifically – the meat of a young bull. It roasts on coals much faster and is juicier. I like the tenderloin, fillet, or neck, as well as the top lobe of the sirloin. Take a closer look at the cut of the selected meat, it should have a uniform light red (veal – light pink) glossy shade. The cut surface must be dry, slightly shine, and free of iridescent streaks! And so that no flies fly around!
Marinade: the same as for pork, one to one. Put the marinated meat in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
Important to remember: a good beef kebab will cost a lot. Do not rush to acquire rump, thigh, ribs. You will not get what you would like at the output.
Meat: it is best to buy chicken for these purposes in a supermarket, industrial production. Take a boneless and skinless chicken thigh – a kebab thigh is softer than a breast (the kebab will come out dry from it). If you cannot find a boneless hip without skin, remove the bone with a knife, it is not difficult. It is better to cut the chicken thigh in half lengthwise.
Marinade: for 1 kg of chicken, 500 g of marinade is taken, which consists of 250 g of onions, chopped into strips, vinegar 9% and water. Add salt and pepper.
Preparation
1. Add chopped onion to the chicken. We mimic this business well and fill it with water by ¾ (so that the meat “does not cover the head”).
2. Season with salt and pepper. Add vinegar.
3. The marinade should turn out to be brightly sour, highly salty and highly vinegar (believe me, you will not regret it in the finale). And do not hesitate to pepper!
4. Also put in the cold for 12 hours.
Important to remember: chicken, unlike pork and beef, must be washed before cooking. It also happens that you come to the dacha in the afternoon, and by the evening the barbecue should be ready and there is not so much time left. Then “strengthen” this marinade and leave the chicken not in the refrigerator, but, on the contrary, in a warm place (but in the shade) for 4-5 hours. The meat will be gorgeously marinated in this marinade.
Meat: gentlemen, do not repeat my mistakes, do not buy a whole live fish! Once I wanted romance – I went fishing on a paid pond. I didn’t catch a damn thing there, but empty-handed, of course, it’s worthless to return home. I bought a large freshwater fishing comrade at the exit from them. And bitterly regretted! How I killed him … I still dream about it in nightmares, honestly. This whole process of killing and butchering is not for the faint of heart. Therefore, it is better to take it immediately in steaks. The nervous system will be more intact. The main advantage of fish kebabs is the speed of their preparation.
Marinade:
– ketchup and mayonnaise in a 1: 1 ratio,
– soy sauce (optional),
– freshly squeezed lemon juice (also optional),
– salt and pepper.
Preparation
1. Mix fillet pieces with marinade. Carefully, they are very delicate and fragile – no need to crumple, as in the previous paragraphs! Here you can already call your wife and bring gentle and caring female hands to work.
2. Leave for 3-5 hours, the fish is marinated very quickly.
3. Do not overuse seasonings and spices.
4. It is also better to reduce the cooking time so that the meat is rich, not dry. We fry the fish strictly to the end. There is no need to experiment, we do not cook sushi.
It is important to remember
Very often the fish “slides” off the skewers or is firmly fried to the wire rack. In order for the fish to be always obedient, first sprinkle it with salt and sugar, rub it well and hold the steak for 40-60 minutes in the cold: this way the upper layers of the pulp will be dehydrated, and everything inside will remain tender and juicy. During the cooking process, such “grated” pieces will not go to the grill and turn into coals. And they will not stick to the bars of the lattice.
Meat: a very tender kebab with practically no specific lamb smell is obtained from the meat of a young animal up to two months old. But you still have to find such a thing! You can use the meat of an adult ram, but remember: good meat should not contain more than 15% fat – the more there is, the stronger that notorious “stench” and specific taste will be. But you can’t completely give up fat either, so choose the middle option. The fat should be milky or white, a yellowish tint indicates a solid age of the slain. Good lamb has an even and natural red color (not burgundy and pink), and it is also firm. I recommend buying a spatula, it is perfect for kebabs. Do not take the leg of lamb. After cutting out the film and tendons from the meat, cut the lamb into walnut-sized pieces. Next, salt and pepper the meat to taste.
The first barbecue in Paris was opened by Alexandre Dumas. He got acquainted with barbecue while traveling in the Caucasus in the summer of 1858 and loved this dish until the end of his life.
Marinade
– Red bell pepper (cut into rings),
– onions (cut into rings),
– a tomato,
– cumin and ground coriander,
– freshly squeezed lemon juice,
– ground black pepper and salt.
Preparation
1. Mix all the ingredients of the marinade. This is a Tatar recipe, you will love it. My family loves him very much. Zira and ground coriander give a crazy effect at the exit! Mix the meat with the marinade and put it in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
2. We fry, enjoying the awesome aroma. Do not overdry! In no case do not pour water on the kebab: if you really need to extinguish the excess fire, then remove it from the barbecue, pour it, then put the skewer in place. Do not water the meat itself!
Important to remember: Cook marinades in glass, plastic or ceramic dishes, but not in aluminum ones, as acid, corroding metal, gives food an unpleasant taste.
– I love potatoes and fish in foil, but I always recommend serving only fresh vegetables to the barbecue, not potatoes or pickles. Radishes, carrots, green onions, bell peppers, dill, parsley and cilantro in unlimited quantities will do. Even a fresh apple! The more fiber you eat with meat, the better. It is advisable to eat vegetables first, and meat later. This will help to dispel appetite and extinguish the first hunger, so as not to overeat. And, of course, no bread for barbecue!
If you do not want to fool your head and cook barbecue yourself, contact me. For the second year in a row, my branded marinated meat for barbecue is regularly in demand – everyone is alive, again healthy and grateful. Because I do it according to the rules and with my soul. As the shish kebab should be prepared.
Check me out on Instagram: @oleg_ilyin – let’s chat! And leave your questions and comments under the article, I will be happy to answer!